Checking In- NaNoWriMo

November is often known as NaNoWriMo-National Novel Writing Month. This is my first time participating so, I’ve taken a little twist on the theme and will aim to write or photograph writing themes every day this month. I noticed that in October, I didn’t publish a piece on my blog. Behind the scenes, I had joined Instagram and participated in the NASPA Region 6 Photo A Day Career in Student Affairs Month campaign. Keeping up with a photo a day takes a lot of work. I was super happy to find Cafevic was still available on Instagram. I noticed too that instead of publishing, I was rewriting pieces for twiniversity.com and my blog. As I writer, I’m discovering it takes a lot of extra energy and time to edit and really make a piece work for your audience. I understand now how important it is to take the time but it is also important to keep them returning to your work. To refocus my writing and keep my blog active, I share my November’s Check In. Thank you for taking the time to check in with me.

Reading: U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s Off the Sidelines and loving it. So far, she shares amazing behind the scenes info on how she was elected to Congress. I’m hooked. I FinishedDriving Lessons, a novel by Zoe Fishman, while on quick get a way without the kids. It was a fun read. She did a nice job writing a story showing how we each handle changes in our lives, especially when it comes to motherhood. I liked the how she connected it to driving.

Watching:Mysteries of Laura on NBC. Debra Messing (Grace from Will and Grace) plays a twin mom who is a police detective in NVC with a super real attitude on life AND is funny and honest. Love it! It’s my new “me time” show.

Listening to:Country Music. I watched CMA Awards last night, and I’ll telling you, there are some really good country artists on the radio right now. I was impressed with all the performances and would totally buy a CD recording of all of it.

Looking forward to: Daily writing and photographing. With it being National Novel Writing Month, I started a #30daysofwriting photo campaign on Instagram to motivate me to really look at where my writing comes from, and what inspires me to be a writer.

Sam Update: Teaching Sam to Cook. A few nights ago I showed him how to make a cheese burger and he ate it! He has always been a picky eater. I’m hoping if he learns how to cook, he might be more likely to eat variety of more food.

Twin Update: Ready to talk. On any given day, my girls are ready to tell you what’s on their mind. It is so cute. It even happen at 2am a few nights ago. The best part is that they even talk differently and their voices do not sound the same. Two individuals who travel together.

Meaning of home: Play First. Clean Second. Some days your house will be clean and some days it will be messy. That’s life. Take it strive. I have to remind yourself, that if one night we let the dishes go it’s okay. Or if not every toy is picked up, it’s fine. What’s most important is did I play today? I started to set a timer on my phone for 6pm. When it goes off, I stop what I’m doing and play Hide and Seek with my kids. It gives me the extra fuel I need to make it to bath and bedtime. Plus, it leaves with a sweet memory for me when it is my turn to head to bed.